This page is closing now, thanks for following along.

It was written by Sam Hancock, Laura Gozzi, Jamie Whitehead, Grace Conley and Chloe Kim – and edited by Sarah Fowler, Marianna Brady, Andrew Humprey and Jude Sheerin.

You can read more about the funeral here: A father 'gone too soon': Tyre Nichols funeral held in Memphis

Sam Hancock
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

The funeral of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died last month after being beaten by police, ended earlier with poignant speeches from his family. If you missed it, here's a rundown of what happened.

Mourners gathered... to celebrate Nichols' life at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, including US Vice-President Kamala Harris and other families of black Americans killed by police - including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

Bad weather... caused the service to be delayed by a couple of hours and meant a number of mourners couldn't reach the church at all.

The eulogy... was given by civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton, who condemned the five black officers charged with Nichols' murder for "beating a brother to death" after the work, as he described it, that civil rights leaders like Dr Martin Luther King Jr did to get black people "through doors" and into positions of authority. "How dare you," he said of them.

Vice-President Harris... gave a speech in which she said Nichols died "at the hands and the feet of people who had been charged with keeping [people] safe". She also called for Congress to push through the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

The call for justice... was performed by Ben Crump, the Nichols family's lawyer, who said his plea was "for justice, for Nichols the human being". He questioned why the police had failed to see Nichols as just that – a human.

The Nichols family... gave emotional speeches, including his tearful mother, who echoed Harris' endorsement of the George Floyd policing bill. "We need to get that bill passed because the next child who dies," she said, "their blood will be on their hands."

Chelsea Bailey
BBC News, Washington

Angelina Paxton had been friends with Tyre Nichols for more than half of her life. She told me they bonded over their mutual love of skateboarding and sunsets. And because of that bond, she said she’s going to try to avoid watching the video of him being brutally beaten by Memphis police officers.

“The last images in my head are not going to be that,” she said.

And she’s not alone. Many people I spoke with in Memphis said they didn’t need to watch the video to know what happened to Nichols. But they also admitted it might be hard to avoid. Experts caution that videos of violent police encounters with unarmed black men can be especially traumatising for African Americans to watch on loop.

For anyone trying to avoid watching traumatic or violent videos in their social media feeds, experts suggest turning off the autoplay function in your social media apps. And if you do watch, try viewing the video minimised and on mute and talking with friends or family afterwards about how you feel.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Nichols' death has again highlighted how one of the most common interactions the US public has with officers - traffic stops - can turn deadly.

In 2022, at least 86 people were killed during such traffic stops, down from 117 in 2021, according to the Mapping Police Violence database.

That figure includes people of all races, but experts say that black Americans are disproportionately stopped by officers in cities across the country.

In many departments, police officers are told in training that traffic stops are among the most dangerous situations they face - meaning that they must exercise extreme caution when approaching a vehicle in which they don't know who, or what, is inside.

Given the dangers to officers and civilians alike, some police departments have re-examined traffic stops, trained police to de-escalate and eliminated incentives to pull them over in a bid to reduce the number of "flashpoints" that can lead to violence.

Learn more about traffic stops in the US here.

Kamala Harris made remarks before Al Sharpton gave the eulogy.

Here's the vice-president's speech.

Chelsea Bailey
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Getty Images

Memphis felt like a city on edge in the hours before the video of Nichols' brutal beating and arrest was released last weekend. The people I talked to were not only concerned about what the video would show, but also how the community would react.

Most people know Memphis as the birthplace of rock'n'roll, but the city was also the centre of a violent turning point in the US civil rights movement.

In April 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

In the week following his murder, a wave of angry protests and riots spread across the United States.

But in Memphis, the community mourned and protested peacefully.

The city is proud of its legacy of nonviolent protests and that continues today.

Even in the midst of grief over Nichols’ death, protest organisers reminded those present to remain peaceful and steadfast in their demands for justice.

Earlier we saw images of Tyre Nichols skateboarding projected in front of members of the congregation.

In the past few days, footage from more than 10 years ago of Nichols at a skate park has gone viral on social media.

Chelsea Bailey
BBC News, Washington

Angelina Paxton told me she met Nichols when they were both awkward teenagers at church camp, and instantly became close friends.

No matter how they both changed over the years, Paxton said one thing about Nichols always stayed the same: he wanted to make a difference.

"He was passionate about being a black man in this country and trying to deal with all the issues we are now talking about," she said.

She says it's been incredibly painful to have to accept the fact that her friend's name will be added to the long list of unarmed black men who have been killed after altercations with police.

But she also hopes his death brings about a time for genuine reflection and change.

"Tyre always wanted to change the world," she said.

"Out of all this pain that we're all going through right now, just know that I can guarantee you he's sitting up there right now smiling because he finally did what he always wanted to do."

We've just heard from various figures in the church, following those emotional speeches from the Nichols family.

The service is coming to an end now with a rendition of civil rights anthem A Change Is Gonna Come.

Nichols' family are leaving the church, to be followed by the rest of the congregation.

Nichols' mother's voice faltered as she thanked everyone in the congregation.

"Tyre was a beautiful person - for this to happen to him is unimaginable," she said between tears. "His assignment is done, he's been taken home."

She again thanked all the community activists for supporting her family, as well as the district attorney, the state of Tennessee and her lawyer.

"I just need that George Floyd bill passed," she said, in reference to police reform proposals stalled in Congress.

"We should take action because there should be no other child that suffers the way my son and the other parents here who have lost children suffered.

"We need to get that billed passed because the next child who dies - their blood will be on their hands."

Image source, Reuters

Chelsea Bailey
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Getty Images

Community activists and protesters cheered when they learned the Memphis Police Department would permanently disband its “Scorpion Unit”, the police task force that was created to help rid the city of violent crime. All five of the officers charged with the second-degree murder of Tyre Nichols were members of the task force.

Ben Crump, the civil rights lawyer who represents the Nichols family, praised Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis for her swift action to fire the officers involved in Nichols' death. He called it a “blueprint” for the rest of the country.

But activists said that state and local lawmakers had a long way to go to reform the Memphis Police Department - and police departments across the country. For them, the violence seen in the video cuts deeper than individual police officers or a police force.

For meaningful change, they say, policing in America must be addressed.

Tyre’s mum and step-dad are speaking.

Rodney Wells goes his first and after big applause says the family is on a journey that’s only just beginning.

“We’re looking forward to passing some bills, for getting justice for all the families here. We cannot continue to let these people brutalise our kids.

“It’s very hard for my wife. This is her baby boy. When we got the news, it was very difficult. It was surrounded by lies and deceit.

"And the light of day is justice for Tyre. Justice for all the families who lost a loved one to brutality of police.

"And I can’t say enough about this community and this country that has come together to support our family."

It's over to Tyre Nichols' brothers now, one of who says his brother "set his own path" and "made his own life".

"My brother really touched a lot of lives," he says, before condemning the five officers accused of his murder for taking away his chance of getting to know his brother even more.

He says he loves his brother and asks him to "save me a space".

Tyre's sisters are speaking, remembering their brother.

"Tyre was my baby brother. We are 11 years apart. He was so special to me. He never wanted anything other than to watch cartoons and eat a big box of cereal.

"He was robbed of his life and passions, but not his light. I lost my faith when my mother told me he was gone. Asking how he could let this happen."

She said her "cries turned to anger, which turned to deep sorrow."

Another one of Tyre's sisters reads a poem titled "I'm just trying to go home" which reflects her brother's last moments when he said that to officers.

"I've skated across barriers, designed to hold me back, I'm just trying to go home, where the love is loud and the smiles are warm, like the sunsets that come for me in the coldest of my storms."

Her voice breaks as she reads: "I'm just trying to go home. Don't I deserve to feel safe?"

Rev Al Sharpton is back up now talking about justice for Tyre Nichols' "momma and daddy", as well as his other family members.

He says the family want to build a skatepark in Tyre's name. "We'll make that happen."

The reverend then introduces Tyre's two sisters who are going to pay tribute to their "baby brother".

Addressing Tyre’s mum RowVaughn, Crump says he knows they can’t bring her son back. But they can establish his legacy.

“It will be one of equal justice,” Crump says. “His legacy will be the blueprint going forward. We have to remember that in less than 20 days from the police committing crimes on video - they were terminated, arrested and charged.”

“The police chief (of Memphis) said it was important the community saw us take swift action.”

He ends by saying that when police "kill one of us now... we can say the legacy of Tyre Nichols is that we have equal justice swiftly".

Crump talks about Breonna Taylor, who was born on the same day and year as Tyre Nichols - 5 June 1993 and who was killed by police.

He acknowledges Taylor's mother, who is in attendance, and says the coincidence of their birthdays "brought her so much pain".

The crowd applauds.

Crump says his call to action, as it's been referred to, is many things. It's a "plea for justice - for Nichols the son, the brother, the father".

He goes on: "But most of all, it's a plea for justice, for Nichols the human being."

The brutality of the five police officers has been referred to as inhumane by many officials, including Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis.

Citing the footage of Nichols' arrest, he attacks the Scorpion Unit of the Memphis Police Department - which the officers belonged to - and asks why they failed to see that humanity. He tells the congregation to ask the person sitting next to them that very question.

"We have to make sure they see us as human beings," Crump says of people in authority, "we have the right" to get "equal justice". He gets a big round of applause and cheers.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Rev Al Sharpton just devoted a good part of his eulogy to condemning the actions of the black officers who were seen beating Tyre Nichols, an encounter that ultimately led to his death.

The incident has been a particularly difficult pill to swallow among black police officers across the country - who I've been speaking to all day.

Historically, with low representation from African Americans among US police departments, violence toward unarmed black men has come at the hands of white police officers.

Sharpton said that half a century ago, Martin Luther King Jr came to Memphis to fight to get black men represented in the police force.

"There's nothing more insulting an offensive... than beating a brother to death", he says.

Black police officers I spoke to feel it is their duty to restore justice and fair treatment where they say historically it has been deprived.

"This is the behaviour we saw from the Ku Klux Klan," said retired New Jersey police sergeant De Lancy Davis. "It's shameful, inhumane and a poor representation."